Eco Mumma: ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO INGREDIENTS TO AVOID IN BABY PRODUCTS

I wanted to share this article from Green People for all you Mumma’s out there. This is an essential guide to avoid certain ingredients in baby products by Green People. If you’re about to come a Mumma or you’re already a Mumma, I thought this guide might be useful. I personally love Green Peoples creams for myself, as they are completely transparent with their ingredients and the company was created by a Mother, Charlotte Vøhtz’s for her daughter In 1994.

It is known that some substances, when applied to the skin, may be absorbed and enter the bloodstream. Research has shown that, depending on the nature and properties of the chemical, as much as 60% of what is applied to the skin may be absorbed.

“Skin care products need only 1% natural ingredients to be called ‘natural'”

In spite of this, many high street babies and children products contain a very high number of chemicals which can irritate your child’s delicate skin and cause allergic reactions.

Even ‘so-called’ natural skin care ranges could be harmful to your baby or child. Skin care products need only 1% natural ingredients to be called ‘natural’, meaning that some may contain a mix of man-made chemicals and water to make up the remaining 99%.

As rates of eczema and allergies among children continue to rise many have pointed to the early introduction of ‘toxic toiletries’ as a major factor.

Preservatives in baby products

Artificial preservatives are one of the main causes of irritation and allergic reactions. Some are also known to release small amounts of formaldehyde which is an irritant, a carcinogen and neurotoxin. The following ingredients contain formaldehyde, may release formaldehyde or may break down into formaldehyde:

2-bromo-2nitropropane-1,3-diol

Diazolidinyl urea

DMDM hydantoin

Imidazolidinyl urea

Quaternium-15

Other preservatives that can cause an allergic reaction and irritation are:

Methylchloroisothiazolinone

Methylisothiazolinone

Parabens (butyl, ethyl, methyl, propyl, isobutyl)

Carcinogenic linked ingredients

Many cosmetics contain DEA or TEA. Neither is carcinogenic on its own, but if the product contains nitrites (which are not always disclosed on labels) it can cause a chemical reaction, leading to the formation of nitrosamines which are carcinogenic.

Other chemicals that pose similar hazards to nitrosamine formation are:

2-bromo-2nitropropane-1,3-diol (Bronopol)

Padimate-O (found in sun screens)

1,4-Dioxane

Foaming and emulsifying agents

One of the most common foaming agents in shampoos, shower gels, bubble baths and even toothpaste is sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS). SLS is a known skin irritant and should be avoided – especially on young sensitive skin.

Gentle foaming agents – no SLS!

Green People only use gentle foaming agents derived from corn or coconut such as decyl glucoside, cocamidopropyl betaine and coco glucoside.

All fatty alcohols used in our products are components of natural plant waxes and should not be confused with ethanol/ethyl alcohol which can cause dryness and irritation and increase permeability of the skin, enabling unwanted impurities to be absorbed.

Babies and perfume

Fragrances are another of the two leading causes of allergy and irritation. If you see the word ‘parfum’ in the ingredient listing you could risk a hidden multitude of synthetic chemicals. 95% of the mix in most perfumes is made from synthetic chemicals!

Scents made with natural ingredients can also cause skin irritation; however you are less likely to suffer allergic reactions if you use one essential oil or a blend of a few oils, than if you use synthetic fragrances

Perfume-free products

Most of our Organic Babies range and Organic Children’s products contain natural essential oils such as Lavender and Chamomile, although we do also have some which do not have any essential oils at all.

For example, our Scent Free Baby Lotion and our Organic Children’s Scent Free Sun Lotion SPF30 are both fragrance-free for those children with very sensitive skin. See all scent-free baby products.

We also have a Sensitive range, which is a selection of scent-free skin and hair care products for all the family including shampoo, body lotion and deodorant. See full Sensitive range.

Avoid colourants

It is wise to avoid synthetic colours. They are only used to make the products look appealing to the consumer and can cause allergic skin reactions; some even contain heavy metals and are carcinogenic.

All colours, whether natural or synthetic, are listed as ingredients in cosmetics by their Colour Index (CI) Number. Each number is unique to a specific colourant material and is shown by the letters CI followed by a 5 digit number, such as CI 75810. Naturally derived colours from plants and mineral sources will have numbers greater than CI 75000 and as a general rule, to avoid synthetic colours in cosmetics you should not use any product with a CI number of less than CI 75000.